


(a taste of) a different side of you

by bokayjunkie



Series: i can still recall (summer of '17) [3]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, OlicityHiatusFic, OlicityHiatusFic-A-Thon, complete arrow rewrite/retelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-13
Updated: 2017-06-13
Packaged: 2018-11-13 15:10:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11187705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bokayjunkie/pseuds/bokayjunkie
Summary: Felicity walks in to find Oliver doing something she would have never expected; cooking.Takes place in mylets get together (have our teams combined)world. This can be read as a stand alone story with only small references to the previous ones, but where's the fun in that.olicity hiatus ficathon, this week's prompt: taste





	(a taste of) a different side of you

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't think i'd even get to participate this week because work has been killing my brain! Whenever I had the time to think and write, I would be too exhausted to do so. But I had a day off and after thinking about it, this idea came to me and I started writing and here we are! 
> 
> Fair warning, this was all rushed and only looked through once or twice by me. I wanted to post it today when I know I'll have the time and brain capacity to do it. So advance apologies for all the errors.
> 
> This takes place a little bit after [our two worlds (they collide)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10932066/chapters/24319170). There's at least one or two more stories I wanted to write that takes place before this. So just bear in mind that this is more of a 'future fic' within this verse. You'll get what I mean.

It’s not the first time Felicity has broken in to Oliver’s apartment, but this is definitely the first time she’s the one who’s surprised. For a moment, she had to double check and make sure she broke in to the correct place.

Nope. Still the same loft. Still Oliver Queen’s place.

Oliver Queen the playboy billionaire and the secret vigilante of Starling City known as the Arrow. The man that SCPD calls dangerous and the thugs of the Glades fear is now standing in his kitchen, cooking.

It’s not just the activity that threw her for a loop, it’s the entire scene of it. The modern kitchen in his two-story loft apartment is littered with bowls and food and a couple of kitchen appliances to help with cooking. In the center of it all stood the very same man that put the fear of god into no good criminals every night; wearing an apron of all things!

Felicity continued to stand in the middle of the room, frozen in place. Her eyes are wide and her face clearly in shock. Oliver continued to move around his kitchen, tending to what looked like a Kitchenaid Mixer (seriously he even knows how to use the thing!) before looking up with a feign stern expression.

“I gave you a key for a reason you know.” is all he said before turning off the mixer and moving to the center of the counter.

His voice seem to break her free from her trance. Her eyes shifted around, as though still trying to process the scene before her.

“You’re…” she started, trying to follow his movement, still trying to make sense of it. “You’re cooking?”

He glanced up at her, his brow raising. “You know I actually put effort into getting those keys made for you.” he said, ignoring her comment. “Not even Thea got that courtesy. The only reason she has a set of keys is because she was with me when I got the place and swiped the keys from the landlord before I could and made herself a copy.”

“That’s because she’s smart and knew you’d lock her out.” She pointed out.

Felicity walked over to the counter and sat on the stool. From there, she can get a closer look at exactly what he’s doing. In front of him is a large chopping block and at least three different knives, and not the colorful kind like Lyla has. These look like one of those state of the art cooking knifes she always see the chefs on the Cooking Channel use.

“Because I don’t like just anyone coming and going to my apartment.” He said. “Which is why you should appreciate that I gave you a key in the first place.”

“You only gave me a key because you wanted me to stop breaking in to your apartment.”

“Yeah and look what good that did.” Oliver muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Oh come on, like you care.” She scoffed. “It’s more fun this way. But stop changing the subject. You can cook.”

Oliver stayed silent as he continued to cut the lemons on the chopping board. He still wore a strict expression, though Felicity can tell there’s no hard feelings attached to it. He always acts like he’s annoyed by her antics but they both knows he enjoys her company.

“I mean this isn’t just your run of the mill ready made stuff that you just pop in the microwave.” She continued, gesturing to the set up in front of them. “This is like Top Chef level of preparations and ingredients.”

“You do realize I am a man of many talents.” He responded without looking at her, continuing to arrange an array of vegetables in front of him.

“I have noticed that about you.” she acknowledged with a smile. “I just didn’t realize cooking was one of them.”

“It’s something I don’t get to indulge in very often, but always something I enjoyed.” He gave a half hearted shrug. “It kind of relaxes me.”

At the admission, Felicity couldn’t help but soften from her teasing manner. Especially when he’s actively avoiding looking at her and continue to busy himself. Something told her not a lot of people knew this side of Oliver and she feels a sense of warmth spread through her that he’s so willing to be open about it with her. She definitely didn’t want to mess this bubble she found themselves in.

“I can’t wait to get a bite then.” She said in a sincere tone. “What are you making?”

“Salmon. Lemon Dill for me and Pesto for you.”

Her eyes widen in delight as her mouth opened, feeling herself salivating. “I love salmon.” She said rather breathless. “And pesto salmon is my favorite.”

“I know.” he gave her a smirk before turning around to face the oven.

It was then that Felicity noticed there are two baking sheets on top of the stove with a cut of salmon on each of them. He must have already prepared them before she arrived. Oliver added a few vegetables on the sheet before putting them both in the oven. It hadn’t even been a minute and the room is already surrounded by the most delicious scent she’s ever smelled.

“Oh god, I’m sooo hungry!” she groaned, feeling herself drool.

Oliver let out a chuckle and turned back around to face her. “Well you’ll have to wait a couple of minutes for that, but I do hope you like it.”

“Like it? Oliver I hadn’t had pesto salmon since I crashed that Mayoral benefit dinner back in Central City.”

“So this whole breaking into places is a hobby for you, I see.” He says teasingly.

She rolls her eyes at him. “Please, like you’re even surprised.”

“No you’re right, it’s something I very much expect from you.” he smiled. “I hope you like the pesto though, I made it myself.”

Her eyes widen. “You made it yourself? You mean like you made the pesto from scratch?”

He nodded and looked away, suddenly feeling awkward. Though Felicity is still reeling from the information.

“Who are you?” she couldn’t help but ask, looking at him incredulously. He suddenly looked shyy. “No seriously, Oliver, how the hell did you go from the terrifying vigilante to…Master Chef with your very own apron?”

“Like I said, cooking relaxes me.” he shrugged. “When I was a kid I’d always like to sneak into the kitchen to get sweets. But our housekeeper, Raisa, kept me in check. Whenever she caught she’d punish me by making me help her with the cooking and I just kind of… fell in love with it.”

Despite the fact that he continued to look down as he spoke, Felicity couldn’t help but smile. It was clear he isn’t comfortable sharing such a personal detail about his life, but he does with her. He doesn’t try and make it seem like a big deal, but she knows otherwise. She knows he doesn’t like sharing things like that with just anybody so she takes any piece of information he will give and treasures them. 

“When I came back, cooking was a way for me to de-stress that doesn’t involve going out in the streets and putting arrows in people.” He finished.

“Do you do it often? I didn’t even know you had time to cook.”

“Not as much as I’d like to.” he confessed. “You’re right, I don’t have time so I don’t always get a chance to cook. And besides, I don’t have anyone to cook for.”

“Really? Not even for Thea? Or Laurel and Tommy?”

He shook his head sheepishly. “They know that I cook but…I don’t think they know how much I like to do it. And I never really wanted to cook for anyone really. I guess I just liked that it was something I do for me…”

Something struck Felicity once again upon seeing the slight tint of pink on his cheeks. This is more than just Oliver sharing another part of himself with her, this is him showing her a secret that she’s the only one privy enough to be part of. The thought caused her heart to beat erratically and a surge of excitement rushed through her.

It’s something she’s noticed with him over the time they’ve known each other. Oliver is still the strong leader in their group of misfits that have suddenly formed into something sort of a team. He puts on a mask with everyone, even his family and friends, because there’s so many layers to him.

With his sister and the team, there are things he holds back because he doesn’t want to subject them with horrors of what he’s experienced. With his friends and family outside of the vigilante team, he’s someone else completely. But with her… it’s different.

The change between Oliver as the Arrow and Oliver as her friend is so subtle that she almost didn’t catch it. It started with him giving her the keys to his apartment. Something she didn’t think was such a big deal until she overheard Thea giving him grief for never letting anyone over at his place and how he likes to be by himself. That gave her a pause since she’s practically been a constant fixture at his place ever since that days she first broke into his apartment after he got shot.

Felicity didn’t say anything about it to Oliver or Thea. Something told her he didn’t want to elaborate anymore on his reason for giving her free access to his home when he actively isolates himself from everyone else. There are other things she’s noticed, like how he’d casually mention things about his five years away that she knows he hasn’t shared with anyone else. He’d also share things about his past before the island, the things that he wasn’t so ashamed of.

She knew the importance of him sharing these things and she feels honored that he’s chosen to share them with her. She knows he hasn’t talked about these things with anyone before because she’s also heard squabbles between him and Thea about his lack of trust in her and their friends. The fact that he hasn’t shared much about his life always causes conflict between them.

Felicity can’t say much because she feels that Oliver shares more about his life with her than he does with everyone else. Though she tries not to make a fuss about it, knowing that telling her these things is a big deal. When he does share glimpses of his life, like now, she plays it off as though it’s normal thing for him to tell her parts of himself that he keeps hidden from everyone else.

She knows the amount of trust he has bestowed on her and she will cherish it.

“This must be a special occasion then.” Felicity said, trying to keep her tone light. “I wish I would have known, otherwise I’d dress up for tonight.”

She’s currently wearing one of her old, ripped Metallica t-shirt that had survived from her teen years. Her jeans also had cuts on them and she has a flannel shirt with the sleeves tied around her waist. Her black hair is up on a messy bun, with some strands of hair falling off, and her face is completely make up free, her freckles and dark circles in full display. She definitely didn’t look like she’s dressed for a nice dinner.

“You look fine.” He said with an eye roll. “It’s not like we’re going in a fancy restaurant or anything.”

“You’re one to talk. You look like you’re preparing us a five star meal.”

“It’s just dinner Felicity.” He says. “I figured it would be a good change to have something healthy tonight instead of take out.”

“I don’t think you’ve fully thought this through, Oliver.” she said with a serious look on her face.

He looked at her, confusion on his face by her reaction.

“I’m gonna expect this from now on.” She continued to look at him with a grave expression. “Whenever we have a dinner and movie night plan, you can forget Big Belly Burger, you better be cooking me a five star meal, mister.”

He let out a chuckle and shook his head. “If it means I can get you to eat your vegetables once in a while, I think I can live with that.”

“Ugh, you’re starting to sound like Lyla. I swear you two are trying to conspire against me.”

“We just want to make sure you live long enough to see that new Star Wars movie.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Don’t use my love for sci-fi to reason with my health.”

He chuckles again and went back to his task. Felicity watches in silence for a moment, relishing in the scene. She can tell that he’s enjoying this very much, the small amount of tension he had been displaying before when he had been telling her his story of how he had come to his passion for cooking has disappeared. He’s completely back in his element, enjoying his task without fear of judgement for showing his vulnerability.

This is how Felicity knows he’s fully enjoying the moment, when Oliver is doing something and he is wholly immersed in it. She’s seen him hyper focus when he’s working out or when he’s making his own arrows. Those are thing she knows he enjoys doing very much. He now has the same concentration on his face as he’s cooking.

It’s kind of a beautiful thing to watch.

“What are you doing now?” she asks, breaking the silence. She’s been entranced as she watch him mix whatever concoction is in the bowl in such a delicate manner.

“I’m making our dessert.” He says simply, continuing to fold the ingredients in the bowl.

Felicity perked up. “There’s dessert?”

“Of course there’s dessert.” He practically scoffed, as though the suggestion there wouldn’t be is absurd.

“Shut up, you’re making dessert?” her eyes widen as she grinned in excitement. “Now you’ve really spoiled me Mr. Queen. We are never getting take out again! I fully expect this from now on.”

He chuckled again, but a smile rest on his face as he continued to stir.

“What are you making? Is that chocolate I see?”

“Yup.” He nods proudly. “I’m making chocolate mousse.”

Her mouth hung agape as she looked at the owl, now a beautiful rich shade of chocolate, with such longing. “You are unreal.”

“I knew you’d wanted dessert and this was the easiest and fastest to make.”

“I wouldn’t know, I have no skills in the kitchen whatsoever.”

“I know, Dig told me about your first and only adventure in the kitchen when you tried to help Lyla cook dinner.”

She grimaced at the memory. “At least one of us can cook in this relationship.” She says before she can think about her words. “I mean this friendship. Our friendship.” Her eyes widen at the slip.

It’s something that’s becoming common now, her lack of filter in regard to him. First they were just unintended sexual innuendos brought on by the fact that she gets a front row show to his muscles extravaganza when he works out in the foundry. Now they’ve turned into a bit more suggestive in a different kind.

Sometimes it’s a slip of her saying something about their relationship, as if it’s something more than platonic. Like last week, when they ran into his friends Laurel and Tommy, she made a comment about meeting him at his place later that night and maybe staying over. They do have regular sleep overs, but the way it sounded made it seem like it was more than just her sleeping in the guest room he set up for her.

For some reason Oliver didn’t seem to mind. He never teased her about it or used her slip ups against her. There are times when Thea or Roy makes a comment about it, but he always chastises them, which she appreciates. At most, he just lets out an amused smile, which she didn’t mind. It made her feel as though he accepts her, lack of filter and all.

Like now, Oliver only smiles with her slip and continues to gently fold the batter in the bowl. Once he decides it’s thoroughly mixed, he dips his finger in the batter, taking a small amount to taste test. He nods in approval of the finished mixture.

“Ooh, can I try?” she asks, excitedly.

“Sure.” He says and went to swipe the batter with his index finger again and lifts it close to her face.

Eagerly, Felicity took his finger in her mouth, letting her tongue swirl all over to lick off the batter. Immediately, Oliver realized the error of his ways. He didn’t know what prompt him to use his finger to give her a sample taste when he could have just used the spoon. He’s so used to only him being the recipient of his cooking so having her as an audience is a new thing.

He gulped at the feeling of her mouth completely surrounding his index finger, feeling her tongue lapping his skin as she licked every last coating of chocolate. It wasn’t until he felt a slight suction on his figure, indicating that she’s sucking it, that he let out a disgruntled groan.

The noise brought her to realization at what she’s doing. Her eyes widen and connected with his. It’s as though the same thought passed through them. This isn’t something they should be doing. They’ve blurred the boundaries of their friendship in the past before; the fact that they have a standing dinner and movie night every week that no one else is invited to always causes Diggle to have that disapproving big brother look.

This though, this is another level. This is more than intimacy, it’s downright sensual.

Despite them being very comfortable around each other, they’ve never had an encounter quite as sensuous as this. They’ve been very good at keeping that wall between each other. Sure they have no qualms about touching or even cuddling. Heck, they’ve even shared a bed every now and then.

But this is a territory they’ve tried very hard to never venture into.

Immediately, Felicity pulled away from him, letting his finger go. Oliver also pulled his hand back. They became silent, avoiding making any eye contact. They took this moment to compose themselves and let whatever transpired go.

It’s not the first time they’ve found themselves in this kind of situation, where they share a look that’s more meaningful than friendship. It may be the first time that it’s ever been fired by something so carnal, so it took them a lot longer to gather their bearings before they can resume.

“I should finish these.” Oliver cleared his throat and focused back on the mixture in front of him.

“Yeah, I’ll set the table.” Felicity got up from the stool and started moving around the kitchen.

They moved together in complete synchronicity, not saying anything at all. The tension is still there and somehow, they both knew they can’t just brush it off like they usually do. Something is simmering between them, it’s been there for a while now but they’ve always just brushed it off.

It appears that what transpired between them, may have been the crack in the only wall they’ve built between them. They don’t know what to make of that, but for now, they’ll go on as they always do.

As friends and as partners.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked this. Kudos and comments are always welcome!
> 
> If you want to say hi, or give me a prompt, come to my tumblr: [bokayjunkie](http://bokayjunkie.tumblr.com/)


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